Color me surprised. I thought this piece of red meat that Gentry Estes tossed out last night would have the Intertubes ablaze. There was some message board chatter in response, but not much, and what I saw of it was dismissive for the most part. No Mark Bradley post, either (there’s still time, I know).

Maybe it also has something to do with the fact that Coach Champ’s stock, on a national level, has dropped like a rock in the past two months such that landing him as a coach is about as exciting as a bladder infection.

This is truly strange, as I’m not having any problems with it. (Maybe this is why there’s been so little chatter about it.)

Anyway, here’s the lede:

Bobby Burton of 247Sports.com this afternoon posted a tidbit on our Texas site that according to multiple reputable sources out of Austin, the University of Texas had been contacted by a person representing Georgia’s interests regarding the services of defensive coordinator Will Muschamp. (Post is linked below)

On this end, UGA athletics director Greg McGarity firmly denied that report when reached this evening.

“We have a football coach,” McGarity said. “Mark Richt is our football coach.”

Quick history lesson that I think is relevant when discussing whether or not CMR is really in “decline” or is simply going through a tough but temporary phase.

Bear Bryant won three mythical national titles at Alabama in the early and mid-1960s: 1961, 1964 and 1965. In 1966 the Tide went 11-0 (but was not awarded a title by the polls). So Bear’s record of achievement was even higher in the 1960s than CMR’s has been in the past decade and, therefore, so was the level of expectation on the part of Tide fans.

Going into the 1967 season, Alabama was expected to challenge for a national title (much like Georgia was in 2008) and the Tide even had a future NFL legend returning at quarterback, Kenny Stabler (reminiscent of UGA returning Matthew Stafford in ’08). And yet the Tide “only” managed an 8-2-1 record in ’67, including a 2nd-place finish in the SEC and a loss in the Cotton Bowl.

The Bear then stumbled to 8-3 in ’68 (tied for 3rd in the SEC, with a loss in the Gator Bowl), 6-5 in ’69 (losing record in the SEC and another bowl loss, this time in the – gulp – Liberty Bowl) and then 6-5-1 in ’70 (another losing record in the SEC and a tie in the Bluebonnet Bowl).

Imagine the frustration of Tide fans everywhere during that period. But the Bear was making major changes (including integrating the squad and switching offensive philosophies). The result? Near invincibility throughout the rest of the 1970s on the way to truly legendary status. The point being that while CMR must always be prepared to adjust and sometimes make difficult decisions regarding his staff, there is no evidence to suggest that he’s lost the ability or desire to be a highly successful coach. A couple of disappointing seasons doesn’t prove or disprove the value of a good coach. I’m guessing that Tide fans are glad they didn’t run the Bear out of town after the 1970 season…

Mark Richt will be a legend before he’s done at UGA. You know who else “only” had two SEC titles in his first decade as head coach at Georgia? Vince Dooley. He didn’t win a national title until his 17th season at the helm. And when it finally happened, it happened thanks in large part to a player who hadn’t even been on campus the previous season…when the Dawgs only won 6 games.

Georgia has a coach with a great track record and the ability to produce more great seasons in the future, not to mention the kind of integrity that is sorely lacking at some other schools in the SEC that I won’t mention…

Great post, and I agree 100%. Richt has demonstrated that he can win at the highest level. The 2002 (13-1) and 2007 (11-2) could have easily played for the BCS title, except that they didn’t get the same nod/luck that other teams had (higher ranked team losing the last weekend, media outcry moving the team up, etc).

Richt is adjusting and when the defensive changes take hold and we get back to giving up less than 20ppg, we’ll be just fine.

For a little perspective, I just look at the idiots that want to fire Mack Brown or Corch Irvin Meyers. Just wait, once Cam is declared ineligible and Auburn gets the hammer, everyone will want to fire Cheezits, too.

Ugh, enough with the Bear Bryant/Mark Richt comparisons some of you homers like to toss out. That is about as apples to oranges as you can get.

So because Bear Bryant had a couple of bad years 30 years ago and then won a Nat’l Champ…MR will do the same…nice logic. There’s a big difference between Bear Bryant and Mark Richt…as you pointed out, Bear Bryant made changes when they were needed.

Mark Richt on the other hand…held onto his crummy defensive staff for several years too long, and when asked about change comes up with such gems as “we’re doing the same things we did a few years ago” and “we’re just going to keep staying the course”. If you honestly think Bear Bryant would have been as alright with losing as MR apparently is..then you need to go back to your history books.

I’m sure there were lots of Tide fans who were making the same kinds of “arguments” you are. But forget about what the future holds. Let’s talk about what happened at Alabama following the 1966 season. Did Bear Bryant suddenly become a horrible loser? Was he washed up? Was he “refusing to change” or whatever? There is no argument that you can come up with against CMR now that probably wasn’t voiced against Bear Bryant 40 years ago by dissatisfied fans. Right now, CMR is being judged against his own previous success. So how do you think Tide fans were judging Bear Bryant when looking at his success from 1961-1966 to his “failure” in 1967-1970? And the fans who were grumbling then probably couldn’t imagine things getting any better…and yet they did. Bear Bryant wasn’t the legend in 1970 that he was when he retired following the ’82 season. CMR is still a work in progress as far as that goes. You can’t prove that he won’t have success going forward anymore than I can prove that he will…but as far as I’m concerned, he’s earned the benefit of a doubt.

H-T: So Bear had 3 titles and an additional undefeated season to boot, before having a few tough seasons. And you’re saying CMR’s record equates to Bear’s level of success? On top of that – now that we’ve suffered a couple poor seasons, Dawg faithful can expect a string of national titles? Seems simple enough when you put it that way. Perhaps for an encore we’ll get world peace.

Ohh, and to reply to your second apples to oranges comparions of Richt to Dooley…does that mean we should expect 7 more years of mediocrity and then a once in a lifetime player will suddenly appear and carry the team to greatness? Sounds like a fairy tale to me.

Dooley and Richt are not “apples and oranges.” That’s even less valid than your complaint about the comparison of Richt and Bryant. And I’m not really making the case that CMR is another Bear. I’m simply pointing out a high-profile example (and there are other examples, too) of a coach who at one point in his career seemed to be failing based on a comparison with his past success. Luckily for Alabama they stuck with Bryant and were rewarded. There’s no guarantee that the Tide would have been the ’70s powerhouse they became if Bryant had been sent packing in December of 1970.

Dooley is a legend for Dawg fans and Richt’s record after 10 seasons is better than Dooley’s was. When would you have called for Dooley’s firing?

Guys like Scooter help me realize it is possible to be a Bulldog and hate Bulldog fans. I am 10x over the tired, chicken-little mindset on display across the internets. Listen, fellas, it’s college football. There are going to be bad years, sometimes several in a row, for every team. Find a way to deal with it or, find another sport.

I find it humorous (in a sad, sadistic way) that both Addazio and Bobo run their smallest running backs into the heart of the line on regular occasion. That said, I’d take Bobo over Addazio everyday of the week and twice on Saturday.

Quote Of The Day

“It brings back a great Bulldog running back in Thomas who has NFL playing experience and has had success as a college coach at multiple schools. He also inherits a position that has been built to an elite level by Bryan. And it gives Bryan the opportunity to return to coaching the position he played and the one where he cut his teeth serving as a graduate assistant under wide receiver coach John Eason here at UGA. It also provides him with a new experience as a passing game coordinator.” -- Mark Richt, AB-H, 2/16/15